SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- One part pitcher, one part sideshow. Stephen Strasburg’s ready for the big leagues, and the circus is coming to a town near you soon.

The much-hyped number one overall pick of the 2009 MLB draft, Strasburg signed with the Washington Nationals for $15.1 million, including a record-breaking $7.5 million signing bonus, just seconds before the deadline last year after contentious negotiations. And while he’s yet to throw a Major League pitch -- that should change in the next few days, by the way -- he seems to be worth every penny.

Strasburg started the season in Double-A Harrisburg and drew huge crowds both in the stands and in the press box, garnering national media attention with every pitch he threw. With a fastball that has touched 102 miles per hour, a plus-plus power curveball and knee-buckling changeup in his repertoire, the 21-year-old blew through the Eastern League before being called up to Triple-A Syracuse after just five starts for the Senators.

Turns out, his veteran teammates believe the hype as well.

“He throws high 90’s with good movement on it, and he commands the ball well,” said Syracuse Chiefs infielder Eric Bruntlett, who scored the winning run for the Phillies in the 2008 World Series.

“He’s got exceptional secondary pitches, too. He has a great curveball and he’s also got a good changeup. Physical-wise, stuff-wise, tools-wise, whatever you want to call it, he’s got everything you could possibly need.”

Strasburg is regarded as one of the biggest pitching prospects in the history of baseball, if not one of the biggest prospects overall. Baseball America’s scouting report lists him as projecting as a “true No.1 starter and a Cy Young Award Winner.”

Anything less, the publication reads, will be a disappointment.

According to Chiefs reliever Ron Villone, a 40-year-old Englewood native with 15 seasons in the big leagues under his belt, Strasburg is light years ahead of where most pitchers his age are with their development.

“I think he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do with his ideas with pitching,” Villone said.

“His pitches are very above average. He’s got command of all his pitches, and he’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders. He’s still young, and he knows he has a lot to learn still. But his development is probably well beyond most guys for 21 years old.”

With that kind of praise being heaped on him, it’s no wonder that he’s inarguably the biggest story in the illustrious 134-year history of Syracuse professional baseball. His May 24th start -- his third at home -- at Alliance Bank Stadium attracted 13,288 fans, the second largest total in the city’s history. The largest crowd? That came on the night of Strasburg’s Syracuse debut, where 13,766 people packed the house.

Strasburg isn’t so much a pitcher as he is an attraction. The buzz outside the ballpark, in the stands and even in the clubhouse was unlike anything you’ll see in minor league baseball. Fans lined up 10-12 deep near the bullpen just to see his warmup pitches, nearly all of them with digital cameras or cell phones in hand, trying to capture a glimpse of the next big thing while he was still in their small city.

“Whistlestop Souvenirs,” the small team store located on the concourse, could barely keep anything with Strasburg’s image in stock, with scorecards with his picture on them flying out of the store for two dollars, and Chiefs shirts with his name and number on the back quickly going out of stock at $25 a piece.

The Chiefs tidy press box, which usually has anywhere from three to four reporters in it at any given time, has seen upwards of 20 for Strasburg’s starts, according to radio play-by-play man Jason Benetti.

And even with all that hype, all that coverage, all that opportunity to disappoint...Strasburg has outperformed anyone’s expectations. His first three starts for Syracuse encompassed 18 1/3 innings. He allowed a grand total of zero runs.

Two Mondays ago, in his fourth outing, Strasburg seemed human, but barely. He needed just 52 pitches to get through five innings of work, allowing two runs (one earned) on no walks and five hits. He struck out five Toledo Mud Hens batters and his fastball sat at 98 MPH on the stadium’s radar gun.

After the game, anxious reporters made their way down to pack a small room in the bowels of the ballpark, waiting for Strasburg to answer their questions. Turns out, despite another outstanding outing, Strasburg may be his own harshest critic.

“There’s always something to work on,” Strasburg said.

“Right now, I’m working on it here. When I do get an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues, there’s going to be some other things I need to work on. Just looking at today, I was kind of falling off a bit too much. It caused me to get around on my breaking ball a little bit and caused me to cut on my changeup. Luckily enough, I was able to make the adjustment as the game went on, and my curveball started to come back to me and my changeup started to work a little bit better.”

With Strasburg just days away from making his Major League debut with Washington, Chiefs manager Trent Jewett summed up the scene perfectly.

“He’s real good,” Jewett said.

“And he’s going to be real good. Stephen Strasburg is a rare breed. We’re real fortunate to watch somebody of that caliber pitch, no matter where it is. He’s as advertised.”